Orphans

Bram Ellens

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About the Artwork

In the Orphans, we see how the artist collected old paintings from deceased people to give them a new life. Through undertakers and thrift stores, he managed to lay his hands on paintings that had become “orphaned” after their owner died and the art was discarded by their heirs.

All of these paintings that ended up in damp storage basements longing for a new owner, contained both the energy of the original artist as well as the attachment of the deceased owner.

The spirituality of the shape of the Orphans and timelessness of the used material, combined with the ‘family constellation’ of the installation evoke a feeling of resignation and inner silence to the public.

Year: 2018-2020


Copyright the artist. Photo: © Nick Turpin

Material

Discarded paintings

Dimensions

Overall Dimensions: 400 x 300 x 265cm / Each Orphan: 80 x 80 x 120cm, 140 x 140 x 200cm, 170 x 160 x 250cm

Artist Biography

Bram Ellens

A multitalented autodidact artist. A background in technology, art and entrepreneurship. As an artist Bram has a focus on sculptures and installations. His work is often theatrical with a grand gesture and is generally displayed in large (public) spaces. Kicking off his career with the infamous 'Apping glow in the dark garden gnome series', Bram started to create and learn with the help of various mentors. Five years later his oeuvre is starting to develop a clear line around what it means -and how it feels- to be human in our times. Sometimes his work sparks reflection and spirituality around this theme (e.g. 'Orphans' 2018-2020), while sometimes it challenges our relationship with technology by screaming from a soapbox (e.g. 'Robots in captivity' 2020-2021). www.bramellens.com